40 B4 40: Results

I’m 40! Pencils down, heads up, I’m out of time for my 40 B4 40 list. Feel free to grade my work.

1. Get old timey photos of our family - Done!

2. Skydive or hanglide - Done!

3. Take a Napa wine tour - Done!

4. Hike Half Dome - Done!

5. Stand-up paddleboard - Done!

6. Snowshoe - Done!

7. Camp with the dogs - Done, with Jasper, only.

8. Skateboard at a skate park - Done, the day before my birthday!

9. Compete in an agility competition - Done!

10. Renew my passport - Done-ish . . . my passport is still in processing, after a request for MORE documentation last week.

11. Pose for a photo with Mickey Mouse - Done!

12. Attend a Comicon - Done!

13. Dye my hair pink - Done!

14. Teach Jasper to walk nicely on a leash - Done-ish . . . he knows how to walk nicely, but is not 100% reliable.

15. Do a 365 Photo project - Daily picture success! Find my photos here.

16. Sew a garment - Done! And it was so ugly that it went immediately in the donation bag.

17. Take a sewing class - Done! (Obviously, it didn’t help much with my garment creation.)

18. Meditate - Meditation is never “done, ” but I tried multiple techniques during the year. I haven’t found a routine that works best for me, yet, but I will continue explore meditation.

19. See a live concert - Done!

20. Go to a hot air balloon festival - Done!

21. Learn to 2-finger whistle - Done!

22. Do the splits - Done-ish . . . I am simply not a flexible person. I had my left split for a few weeks this winter, but stiffened up again.

23. Show Dan my old Bridgeport haunts - Done!

24. Finish making all the burgers in Veggie Burgers Every Which Way - Done!

25. Write one special content blog post per month - Done!

26. Sail - Done!

27. Wallpaper a wall - Done-ish . . . I got one roll up. I’m using a self-stick, removable wallpaper. It is fairly easy to work with and can be repositioned, but can’t be applied to an unpainted or matte wall. I painted the wall with satin paint and waited 24 hours before starting the papering, but that wasn’t long enough. The paint started to peel up as I moved the paper. I’m waiting until next weekend to finish, when the paint will hopefully be completely cured.

28. Participate in Toastmasters - Done! I’ve given ten speeches and won “best speech” seven times! I’ve also served as toastmaster, evaluator, general evaluator, jokemaster, grammarian, timer, and pledge/inspiration at meetings. I earned my Competent Communicator designation in October.

29. Ride a horse - Done!

30. Have a birthday party - We’ve had a number of scheduling conflicts and my big party will be on lucky Friday the 13th.

31. See local theater - Done!

32. Practice ambidexterity - Done! I’m not ambidextrous, but I practiced! My left hand activities: throw a frisbee, sling a ball, make checkmarks. I’ve also been practicing signing my name (badly) with my left hand.

33. Learn a new piano song - Done-ish . . . it isn’t performance ready, but I’ve played through it.

34. Raft down a river - Done!

35. See a drive-in movie - Done!

36. Take a historical home tour - Done!

37. Practice lucid dreaming - Done! I had two lucid dreams at the very end of October. So so cool.

38. Gaze at the stars - Done!

39. Send out holiday cards - Done!

40. Guest appear on a podcast - Done!

Will there be a 41 B4 41 list? Probably not. But I have big plans, nevertheless!